Romeo and Juliet is probably the most famous play of all time. It was written over 400 years ago and is still a great play. William Shakespeare wrote this play with a universal theme, that Love prevails against everything else. This theme can be related to anyone at any age and in any country or in any language. That why this play is one of the best there is. Romeo and Juliet did not become famous until after his death. The story is still being told today, in what seems like a foreign language to our modern slang.
Here are some quotes that demonstrate the theme of the play:
1) My only love, sprung from my only hate!
Too early seen unknown, and known too late!
That I must love a loathed enemy. (I.5.139-142)
Prodigious birth of love it is to me. Juliet says this because she loves Romeo so much that she wants him to have a different name so there love doesn’t have to be hidden.
2) But soft! What light through yonder window breaks?
It is the East, and Juliet is the sun!
Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon,
Who is already sick and pale with grief
That thou her maid are far more fair than she. (II.2. 2-6)
Romeo compares his love to the sun which is light and it makes the darkness of the moon go away.
3) What's in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other word would smell as sweet. (II.2 .43-44)
Juliet says this because she wishes her only love would have a different name, and says that he is just as sweet even with his name.
4) See what a scourge is laid upon your hate,
That heaven finds means to kill your joys with love. (V.3. 292-293)
The Prince says this to both families saying that the love form there children has ended the feud but now they have paid the price because they are both dead.
These four quotes are provided by Novel Guide
Romeo and Juliet was wrote so long ago that some of the terms and references used in the play can not be understood. Some people actually study Shakespeare to get a better understanding of him and his writings. In the play Romeo and Juliet it opens with an action scene, unlike other plays; “Shakespeare opens his story by boldly announcing the climax of its plot. How can he get away with this? Because the better the storyteller, the stronger their understanding that a story is a journey.” “Shakespeare can do what most inexperienced writers would be loathe to do -- give away his ending -- because what makes his story satisfying is a separate issue from the mechanical working out of its plot.” “This speaks to that issue of drama being not only the anticipation of action, but the feelings and thoughts that anticipation arouses.” Quotes by bill Johnson. To some like Clifford Leech Romeo and Juliet are considered the hero and heroine of the play, “Leech views Romeo and Juliet's love as a maturing experience for the hero and heroine and demonstrates how the development of their language, in particular, marks their entry into adulthood.”
Critical Review
Romeo and Juliet is probably the most famous play of all time. It was written over 400 years ago and is still a great play. William Shakespeare wrote this play with a universal theme, that Love prevails against everything else. This theme can be related to anyone at any age and in any country or in any language. That why this play is one of the best there is. Romeo and Juliet did not become famous until after his death. The story is still being told today, in what seems like a foreign language to our modern slang.
Here are some quotes that demonstrate the theme of the play:
1) My only love, sprung from my only hate!
Too early seen unknown, and known too late!
That I must love a loathed enemy. (I.5.139-142)
Prodigious birth of love it is to me. Juliet says this because she loves Romeo so much that she wants him to have a different name so there love doesn’t have to be hidden.
2) But soft! What light through yonder window breaks?
It is the East, and Juliet is the sun!
Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon,
Who is already sick and pale with grief
That thou her maid are far more fair than she. (II.2. 2-6)
Romeo compares his love to the sun which is light and it makes the darkness of the moon go away.
3) What's in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other word would smell as sweet. (II.2 .43-44)
Juliet says this because she wishes her only love would have a different name, and says that he is just as sweet even with his name.
4) See what a scourge is laid upon your hate,
That heaven finds means to kill your joys with love. (V.3. 292-293)
The Prince says this to both families saying that the love form there children has ended the feud but now they have paid the price because they are both dead.
These four quotes are provided by Novel Guide
Romeo and Juliet was wrote so long ago that some of the terms and references used in the play can not be understood. Some people actually study Shakespeare to get a better understanding of him and his writings. In the play Romeo and Juliet it opens with an action scene, unlike other plays; “Shakespeare opens his story by boldly announcing the climax of its plot. How can he get away with this? Because the better the storyteller, the stronger their understanding that a story is a journey.” “Shakespeare can do what most inexperienced writers would be loathe to do -- give away his ending -- because what makes his story satisfying is a separate issue from the mechanical working out of its plot.” “This speaks to that issue of drama being not only the anticipation of action, but the feelings and thoughts that anticipation arouses.” Quotes by bill Johnson. To some like Clifford Leech Romeo and Juliet are considered the hero and heroine of the play, “Leech views Romeo and Juliet's love as a maturing experience for the hero and heroine and demonstrates how the development of their language, in particular, marks their entry into adulthood.”